After departing from the wooden cabin, Lady Azure and Xue Yue made their way toward a secluded cave, nestled slightly beyond the Spiritual Chaos Forest, yet still within the vast domain of the forest besides the Inner Academy.
"You intend to refine the puppet first?"
They encountered Xiao Hua within the cave and were caught off guard by his unexpected decision. Both had assumed his focus would be on refining a pill for the child growing within Cai Lin's womb.
"I fear that once I succeed in refining the pill for my precious child, I may forget all about the puppet…" Xiao Hua replied with a wry smile. His tone carried a hint of guilt, and his expression made it clear he felt uneasy about the matter.
"That's understandable," Lady Azure murmured, gently rubbing her smooth, porcelain-like chin. "No doubt, you'll want to head for the Central Plains soon after resting, to rescue that lightning brat and the others…"
"Indeed. And unlike puppet refinement, refining a Tier 9 Pill demands far more of your strength," Xue Yue added with a slight nod, her expression showing agreement. "It makes sense that you'd choose to complete the puppet work first."
"More importantly, I need to strengthen my group," Xiao Hua said solemnly, "so we can safely traverse the Stormcoil Mountain Range and rescue Brother Ming Cheng and the others."
Lady Azure and Xue Yue silently agreed with his reasoning. With nothing of interest to keep them there, they quietly returned to his spiritual sea. Since Xiao Hua had chosen to focus on puppet refinement for now, their presence in the physical world was no longer necessary.
Once they had withdrawn, Xiao Hua raised his hand. A dull, grayish-brown bamboo scroll materialized in his palm, its surface etched with aged, ancient script: Sky Demon Puppet.
This was the refinement technique Ming Cheng had once entrusted to him—a rare treasure now in his possession.
With this method, Xiao Hua could forge a puppet capable of contending with even a Dou Zong, or perhaps even a Dou Zun!
Xiao Hua's finger slowly flipped open the scroll. Those words written on it began to enter Xiao Hua's head one at a time before leaving behind a deep memory that was difficult to remove.
The cave slowly descended into silence. Xiao Hua had thrown his attention to the mysterious world that was recorded within the bamboo scroll.
This quiet atmosphere continued for around an hour or so before Xiao Hua have gained a complete understanding of the Sky Puppet Demons.
To forge a puppet, one would have to possess the three key ingredients written in the introduction: a corpse, a Monster Core, and a spirit. Of course, other than these, one would require some special metallic materials in order to make the puppet's body even tougher.
Xiao Hua had long gathered all the necessary materials. Tapping the bamboo scroll lightly against his arm, he gradually sank into deep thought.
As for corpses, he possessed no shortage—many Dou Zong and even Dou Zun cultivators had fallen by his hand. For Monster Cores, his collection included numerous Rank 7 and Rank 8 Magical Beasts. However, when it came to spirits, he had only two from Dou Zun experts—Qing Hai and Qing Tian—and three from Dou Zong class, all of whom were Protectors that had once opposed him.
Conveniently, all of them were members of the Hall of Souls. Using them for such a purpose didn't stir the slightest trace of guilt within him.
A faint, cold smile crept onto Xiao Hua's lips as a thought emerged. He had no intention of actively seeking conflict with the Hall of Souls, but he understood that a future clash was unavoidable.
Since that was the case, why let these captured souls rot in vain? He might as well forge them into a Sky Demon Puppet. Leaving them alive would serve no purpose.
As for the special metallic materials required, his storage ring held a vast stockpile. Most were acquired from the System's Gacha, tucked away under the "Treasure" category. Though surprised at first by their classification, he had been too lazy to look into the details.
Being an alchemist by nature, Xiao Hua had developed the habit of collecting all sorts of rare and obscure materials. Over time, his storage rings had become cluttered with unused resources.
A moment later, he waved his hand. Five objects shot out from his storage ring, slamming heavily onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Five corpses.
One was frozen in a block of ice; the remaining four lay sealed within ancient coffins. Xiao Hua's gaze lingered on the frozen corpse—an old, withered body encased in chilling frost. He recognized it well.
It was the Old Ground Demon Ghost.
Xiao Hua clenched his hand, and five flames of differing colors surged forth. With a flick of his finger, the flames shot out and wrapped around the five corpses. Each corpse was enveloped by a distinct flame, causing the cave to glow with a mesmerizing, five-colored radiance.
The intense heat swiftly melted the thick layer of ice encasing the Old Ground Demon Ghost's corpse, while the destructive might of the flames shattered the wooden coffins, revealing the remaining four corpses within.
The Old Ground Demon Ghost's robes, along with the white burial wrappings of the others, disintegrated into ash. The scorching temperature turned the corpses a fiery, molten red. Under this continuous grilling, wisps of faint black mist began to seep from their bodies, only to be incinerated into nothingness by the surrounding flames.
This black mist was known as corpse vapor—a residual manifestation of the will and consciousness the deceased once carried in life. If not thoroughly expelled, it would hinder the merging of new spirits with the corpse, potentially leading to failure during the refinement process.
Xiao Hua had encountered this phenomenon before, particularly when refining the corpse of Tian Huo Zun-zhe, and had swiftly dealt with it then as well.
Moreover, the refinement of the Sky Demon Puppet required the seamless fusion of body, Monster Core, and spirit. Thus, the corpse vapor had to be thoroughly purged.
The temperatures of the five flames—the Tribulation Lotus Flame, Glazed Soul Flame, Thousand Immortal Flame, Wrathful Chilling Flame, and Life Execution Flame—were precisely controlled by Xiao Hua. Under his expert manipulation, the five fierce flames expelled the corpse vapor with ease, all while carefully preserving the integrity of the bodies.
Thanks to his meticulous control, not a single muscle or bone was scorched.
After a full hour of refinement, the final traces of corpse vapor were fully eradicated.
With a wave of his hand, Xiao Hua released his spiritual perception to probe the interior of the corpses. As expected, there was no blood left within—the intense flames had long since vaporized it during the purification process.
This marked the completion of the initial step in the refinement of the Sky Demon Puppet.
Xiao Hua continued refining the corpses in accordance with the method recorded on the bamboo scroll. Once the process was complete, he extended his hand and beckoned.
In response, five Monster Cores—two at Rank 8 and three at Rank 7—appeared out of thin air.
The Monster Cores hovered for a brief moment before slowly descending into the small cavities he had opened in each of the corpses' chests, fitting perfectly within.
With that step completed, Xiao Hua's expression turned cold. He retrieved five jade bottles from his storage ring, each one faintly exuding a powerful spiritual ripple.
The moment one of the bottles appeared, a furious, vicious roar erupted from within.
"Brat! You'd better release this old man! Otherwise, the Hall of Souls will hunt you to the ends of the world!"
A cold, mocking smirk curved on Xiao Hua's lips.
"Qin Tian," he said, voice laced with ridicule, "do you truly believe the Hall of Souls would let me live, even if I released you?"
He let out a low, disdainful snort before continuing.
"Especially since the Hall of Souls covets the fragment of the Tuo She Ancient God's Jade—the one currently in the hands of the Xiao Clan."
Qin Tian gritted his teeth in frustration, hatred seething in his eyes. Deep down, he knew Xiao Hua was right—the Hall of Souls would never stop hunting someone who likely possessed the fragment of the Tuo She Ancient God's Jade.
Meanwhile, the other spirits remained silent. If even Qin Tian's threat had failed to move Xiao Hua, then anything they said would be meaningless. Their fates were already sealed.
Seeing Qin Tian fall quiet, the corner of Xiao Hua's mouth curled into a cold smile. With a light clench of his hand, the five jade bottles shattered with a crisp crack, releasing five dark, shadowy spirits into the open air.
Startled for only an instant, the spirits reacted swiftly. Qin Tian and Qing Hai attempted to tear open space and flee, while the three Protectors bolted toward the cave entrance in panic, abandoning all dignity.
"Heh."
A low snort escaped Xiao Hua's lips as he released a wave of Spatial Strength, forming a compact spatial cage that instantly enclosed the five spirits. Their escape routes were severed, and even communication with the outside world was completely cut off.
Realizing they had been utterly trapped, the five black-colored spirits began to struggle violently. Curses burst from their mouths, laced with fury and madness. Yet beneath their rage, there was unmistakable fear.
They understood what Xiao Hua intended to do—and that realization sent dread coursing through their very souls.
"Now, now… no need to struggle," Xiao Hua said with a cold smile, his gaze mocking as it swept over the five black-colored spirits. "You've spent your lives capturing others to extract their Soul Essence—did you really think your own end would be anything but miserable?"
His words struck like thunder.
Qin Tian and Qing Hai froze in disbelief, their expressions warped with shock. The curses on their lips faded, and even their struggling halted. Their minds trembled—how could Xiao Hua possibly know such a deeply buried secret of the Hall of Souls?
He was barely twenty, and until recently, had never even stepped beyond the Black-Corner and North-West Regions.
"H-How… how could someone like you… possibly know that?" Qin Tian stammered, his voice trembling with fear and confusion.
Xiao Hua responded with a darkly amused smirk. "Now that… is a trade secret."
As the words fell, a flame surged into Xiao Hua's palm. With a flick, it wrapped around the five spirits, eliciting sharp, anguished screams. Vicious curses laced with hatred and madness echoed violently through the cave.
But Xiao Hua acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. Their cries passed through him like wind brushing against stone—unable to touch even a sliver of his resolve.
Silently, he increased the intensity of the flame.
Under the brutal heat, the hidden threads of intelligence within their souls were incinerated one by one. Qin Tian and the others—who had once schemed and commanded in arrogance—were now reduced to nothing more than empty spirits.
Their sentience… had been completely erased.
"It seems… I've grown rather dark," Xiao Hua whispered softly, shaking his head as a trace of reflection surfaced within his heart.
After refining their sentience, he lightly tossed the five black-colored spirits forward. The black fog rapidly transformed into a swirling gas and shot into the skull of each corpse with lightning-like speed.
The tightly shut eyes of the Old Ground Demon Ghost and the four other corpses suddenly snapped open. A deep, pitch-black glow surged within them—soulless and ominous.
Xiao Hua, however, showed no surprise. With a flick of his fingers, numerous metallic materials imbued with strange lusters flew out from his Storage Ring, hovering steadily before him.
After carefully inspecting each material and nodding in satisfaction, he clenched his hand. A milky-orange flame emerged from his palm and let out a soft hiss. A suction force followed, drawing the floating metals into the heart of the flame.
Bathed in the scorching heat of the Wrathful Chilling Flame, the exotic metals began to show signs of softening. Though not yet melting, their surfaces shimmered and wavered under the intensity.
At this moment, Xiao Hua divided his attention into two streams. One portion maintained a stable, moderate temperature to refine the corpses, ensuring their integrity was preserved. The other manipulated an intensely high temperature to break down the unique metals.
Such refined control—one hand warm, the other blazing—would have been impossible for most alchemists. But to Xiao Hua, who had long mastered flame control under his sister's strict tutelage, it felt as natural as breathing.
Rather than finding it difficult, he only felt grateful—grateful for the training that had tempered both his technique and his heart.
The dual refinement process demanded a significant amount of time—especially the refinement of the corpses. It had to reach a precise stage where both the spirit and the Monster Core, sealed within each body, could merge perfectly without resistance.
Xiao Hua understood well that this was not something that could be rushed. It was not a matter of hours, but of patience and precision.
Thus, seated cross-legged atop a massive boulder, he gradually closed his eyes, silently awaiting the moment when the merger of spirit, Monster Core, and flesh would reach flawless harmony.
Three days passed in silent stillness.
During this time, the strange metals had been fully refined. Under the relentless burning of the powerful Wrathful Chilling Flame, they melted into a thick, dark-golden liquid. Within the flame, the molten metal flowed like an ancient river, emitting a faint, mysterious luster.
The metal refinement was now complete.
However, the full merger between the corpses, spirits, and Monster Cores had yet to occur. Despite this, Xiao Hua showed no trace of impatience. His breath remained calm, his expression tranquil.
He had long since learned—true refinement demands more than fire and skill. It demands the patience to wait… until the right moment arrives.
Two more days slipped by in silence.
Within the cave, Xiao Hua's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open, sharp and focused. Without hesitation, his hands swiftly formed a strange and complex seal. At the same time, an unusual cry—neither human nor beast—echoed softly from his mouth.
The five corpses instantly trembled in response.
At that very moment, the spirits lingering within their skulls seemed to shatter, as if struck by an invisible force. They fragmented into countless tiny light particles that scattered throughout every inch of the corpse's body, fusing into flesh, bone, and meridians alike.
As the spirits disintegrated into light, the Monster Cores embedded in their chests let out a faint hum. Immediately after, a torrent of wild, surging energy erupted—like a great tide overflowing its banks. The power surged through the corpses' veins, initiating a new cycle of energy circulation.
Following this transformation, the bodies began to change.
The grayish-white hue of their skin deepened, becoming more solid and metallic in tone. Simultaneously, the bodies began to shrink slightly, condensing and refining. A vast, imposing aura began to emanate from them—cold, indifferent, and utterly devoid of human warmth.
It was the aura of something no longer alive… and no longer dead.
A puppet that defied the natural order was being born.
Xiao Hua's eyes narrowed as he carefully gauged the aura radiating from each of the five corpses. Two of them now possessed strength comparable to two-star Dou Zun, while the remaining three could easily contend with five-star to six-star Dou Zong experts.
He gave a slight nod of satisfaction. Their power was sufficient for what he needed.
With a flick of his hand, the cluster of dark-gold liquid hovering in the air split into five equal portions. Each portion floated steadily forward, then slowly descended, spreading over the surface of the five ice-cold corpses.
Chi! Chi!
The scorching liquid metal landed with a hiss, releasing waves of dense white steam. A sharp, acrid scent of burning filled the cave. Yet, the skin of the corpses showed no signs of damage.
After undergoing Xiao Hua's prior refinement, their bodies had already reached an extraordinary level of durability.
Powerful Spiritual Strength swept over the five puppets like a vast tide, guiding the dark-gold liquid as it flowed and crawled across their forms. The molten metal etched itself into their skin like living veins of armor, covering them inch by inch.
In mere moments, thick white mist surged from their bodies, expanding outward in rolling clouds. The sizzling sound of heat meeting flesh echoed throughout the cave, sharp and piercing—enough to make one's pores tighten instinctively.
The forging of the Sky Demon Puppets had truly entered its final stage.
Xiao Hua's gaze swept over the puppets now coated in the molten mixture. He exhaled slowly, then gently waved his sleeve. In an instant, five flames of differing colors surged forth once more, completely enveloping the five corpses. A terrifying heat began to radiate from the flames, seeping into the very bones of the puppets.
Under this relentless high-temperature refinement, the dark-gold liquid started to fuse deeper into the puppet's flesh, gradually sinking beneath the surface. As the flames intensified, the transformation became more apparent.
Two of the puppets began to emit a faint dark-golden radiance, flickering like hidden embers, while the remaining three pulsed with a rising glow of silver light upon their skin.
These subtle glows did not escape Xiao Hua's eyes.
He calmly observed the scene, a hint of satisfaction in his expression. From the results, it was clear—he had successfully refined two Sky Demon Puppets and three Earth Demon Puppets.
The transformation process continued for a dozen or so breaths before it suddenly reached its peak. At that moment, the radiant glows abruptly ceased, as though sucked inward. The dark-gold and silver hues vanished, drawn into the depths of the puppets' bodies.
Yet, though the light had dimmed, the aura emitted by the puppets remained undiminished.
Xiao Hua's expression didn't change, but inwardly, he understood: this light-concealing phenomenon was a built-in mechanism—one that prevented the puppets from becoming overly conspicuous in battle or travel.
Within the dancing flames, the five puppets slowly stirred.
With stiff movements, they rose to their feet. Then, without support or external force, their bodies gently levitated into the air, floating silently above the stone floor. Their forms remained still, unmoving—like statues of war forged from the abyss.
Their eyes, deep and hollow, were now pitch-black voids.
Lifeless. Silent. Yet brimming with a dreadful power waiting to be unleashed.
Biting lightly on the tip of his tongue, Xiao Hua spat out five drops of fresh blood, each infused with a trace of Spiritual Strength. The crimson drops floated through the air and landed precisely on the foreheads of the five puppets, gradually seeping into their bodies. As the blood merged, a thumb-sized, dark-red imprint took shape at each puppet's glabella.
The moment the blood essence was absorbed without resistance, an unremovable imprint was etched into their cores. At the same time, the hollow black eyes of the puppets flickered faintly—faint traces of life beginning to stir within.
Their stiff necks creaked as they slowly turned, lowering their gaze toward the cross-legged figure seated atop an enormous rock—Xiao Hua.
With synchronized movements, the five puppets stepped down from the air and knelt on one knee, their heads bowed respectfully in Xiao Hua's direction. Though no words were exchanged, their posture alone conveyed absolute submission.
Xiao Hua's eyes remained closed.
The moment his spiritual blood entered the puppets, he had distinctly felt his spirit divide. One part remained within his true body, while another faint thread extended toward the puppets—forming an inseparable spiritual connection.
Through this subtle link, Xiao Hua could sense their existence with clarity. It was as if five extensions of his will now stood before him.
And in that moment of quiet realization, he understood: these five puppets would obey his every command—utterly and without question. Even if he were to order them to strike down their own master, they would do so without the slightest hesitation.
With the spiritual imprint etched deep into their cores, the five puppets had become Xiao Hua's loyal guardians—utterly incapable of harboring a single thought of betrayal. Their wills were bound, their spirits tethered, and their fate forever entwined with their master's.
Through the spiritual link, Xiao Hua clearly sensed their strength: the three Earth Demon Puppets were each comparable to a five or six-star Dou Zong, while the two Sky Demon Puppets could contend against a three-star Dou Zun—formidable forces in their own right.
He nodded in quiet satisfaction.
With a casual wave of his sleeve, the five puppets transformed into streaks of light and vanished into his Storage Ring. Though the Storage Ring could not preserve living beings, these were merely refined constructs—soulless and without true consciousness—rendering them perfectly suited for storage.
"Now that this matter is settled, I'll take a brief rest before turning my full attention to refining the Tier 9 Treasure Pill for the child Cai Lin now carries…"
Xiao Hua exhaled slowly, his eyes closing as a rare warmth surfaced within his chest.
This would be his first child.
No matter the storms that lay ahead, he vowed—without question—that he would raise his children to stand tall, powerful enough to shake the heavens and rend the earth beneath their feet.
Failure was not an option.
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